Teen with pellet gun prompts lockdown at Boiling Springs High

A teenager apparently playing with a pellet gun inside a car at Boiling Springs High School led to a lockdown at the school Tuesday, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

From staff reports

A teenager apparently playing with a pellet gun inside a car at Boiling Springs High School led to a lockdown at the school Tuesday, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.Daniel Hunter McAbee, 17, of 338 Bright Wick Court, Boiling Springs, was arrested after the incident and charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds and disturbing schools, according to online jail records.Lt. Tony Ivey said in a written statement that the incident began when a mother pulled up in front of the school with McAbee, a former Boiling Springs High student. The woman went into the school to drop something off for her other son, a current student at the school.While the woman was inside, McAbee waited in the car and apparently took out an airsoft pellet pistol and racked the slide, Ivey said. A student in a second car observed McAbee, who was wearing a black hooded shirt, with the gun. When that student's mother returned to the car, the student told her about what she saw, and the mother looked at the car McAbee was in and McAbee pulled his hood over his head, an incident report states.The woman drove away and called 911, telling dispatchers that a young man wearing a black hoodie and armed with a handgun was getting ready to go inside the school, Ivey said.Deputies arrived at the school, which was placed on a temporary lockdown. Deputies received permission from McAbee's mother to search the car, finding a black hoodie inside, the report states. When a deputy picked up the hoodie, a ski mask was found underneath. The airsoft pellet pistol found under the back seat, the report states.McAbee told deputies that he didn't think it was illegal to have a black hoodie or ski mask, and he didn't know the airsoft pistol was in the car, the report states. He was not very cooperative with investigators and began cursing officers when they placed him under arrest.Principal Chuck Gordon used the district's automated phone message system to call parents and let them know of the situation at the school.“We appreciate the cooperation we received from all students on campus and the quick response of school staff and law enforcement in getting the situation taken care of quickly,” Gordon said in a written statement. “The safety of our students is always our first priority.”The lockdown was later lifted. Ivey said McAbee never left the vehicle he was in, never pointed his weapon at anyone and no student was threatened.McAbee remains at the Spartanburg County Detention Facility awaiting a bond hearing.

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